Conceptual knowledge

What is conceptual knowledge, anyway? I refer to it informally, often in contrast to e.g. declarative knowledge of simple facts (the capitol of Iowa) or to procedural knowledge (how to add two-digit numbers). Conceptual knowledge is associated for me with “understanding”, with “depth”. I often think about it in terms of explanations—knowing not just that something is true, but also why it is true. I also think about it in terms of connections—the ways that different ideas hang together to form a whole.

But I’d like to sharpen up my understanding of what conceptual knowledge is, and of how we treat it cognitively.

• Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman
  • “The interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together.” “Knowledge of:
  • classifications and categories
    • e.g. periods of geologic time, forms of business ownership
  • principles and generalizations
    • e.g. Pythagorean theorem, law of supply and demand
  • theories, models, structures
    • e.g. theory of evolution, structure of Congress” (p29)
  • (hm… knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem and of the structure of Congress seem to me like they could be considered factual knowledge… how we distinguish?)
  • by contrast, factual knowledge comprises “knowledge of terminology” and “knowledge of specific details and elements”
  • “we wanted to distinguish knowledge of discrete, isolated content elements (i.e., terms and facts) from knowledge of later, more organized bodies of knowledge (i.e. concepts, principles, models, or theories)” (p42)
  • ”This differentiation parallels a general distinction in cognitive psychology between the knowledge of “bits of information” and more general “mental models,” “schemas,” or “theories”…”
  • ”Accordingly, we have reserved the term factual knowledge for the knowledge of discrete, isolated “bits of information” and the term conceptual knowledge for more complex, organized knowledge forms.”
  • “schemas, models, and theories represent the knowledge an individual has about how a particular subject matter is organized and structured, how the different parts or bits of information are interconnected and interrelated systematically, and how these parts function together. For example, a mental model for why the seasons occur will include not just simple isolated facts about the earth and sun but rather ideas about relationships between them and how they are linked to seasonal changes.” (p48)
  • “this type of knowledge is somewhat more general and often more abstract” (p49)
  • “principles and generalizations bring together large numbers of specific facts and events, describe the processes and interrelationships among these specific details… In this way, they enable the expert to begin to organize the whole in a parsimonious and coherent manner.” (p51)
  • theories, models, and structures, are about “knowledge of principles and generalizations together with their interrelationships that present a clear, rounded, and systemic view of a complex …phenomenon, problem, or subject matter” (p51)

Q. Three classes of conceptual knowledge discussed in the revised Bloom’s taxonomy?
A. classifications and categories; principles and generalizations; theories, models, structures

Q. How does the Bloom’s taxonomy conceptual/factual knowledge differentiation parallel a distinction in cogpsy?
A. Cogpsy’s distinction between isolated LTM elements and “mental models”, “schemas”, “situation models”, “theories”, etc.

Q. What do the revised Bloom’s taxonomy authors mean by “principles and generalizations”?
A. Descriptions which bring together many specific facts to describe processes or interrelationships.

Q. What do the revised Bloom’s taxonomy authors mean by “theories, models, and structures”?
A. Interrelationships between principles and generalizations that “present a clear, rounded, and systemic view of a complex… phenomenon, problem, or subject matter.”